breastfeeding | Q & A

Q & A

General questions

I have/my baby has the same condition as described in one of the the stories posted on ibreastfed.com. Can you put me in contact with the person who wrote it?

Please leave a comment after the story if you wish to contact the author. It is up to the author whether or not she wishes to respond to you.

Are there photos of breasts on this website?

Photos showing uncovered breasts are displayed on ibreastfed.com so please take care when viewing this website in an educational or work environment.

Do you provide medical advice?

ibreastfed.com does not provide medical advice or endorse any treatments or medications described in contributor’s stories. Please consult your health care providers for information about medications and treatments. If you are unhappy with the advice given by your current health care providers please consider seeking a second or third or fourth (etc.) opinion.

Do you provide breastfeeding advice?

ibreastfed.com does not provide breastfeeding advice. Please contact your local breastfeeding support association or lactation consultant if you need assistance, or refer to the organisations listed on the Online breastfeeding resources page. If you have trouble finding the support you need please write to me via the Contact page and I will attempt to find someone who can help you.

How can I contact you?

Please use the form on the Contact page.

Deciding whether to submit your story

I’m not sure if my breastfeeding experience qualifies. How long do I need to have breastfed to qualify to submit a story?

The stories I publish are stories from women who have breastfed or continued to breastfeed in challenging or unusual circumstances, whether it has been for weeks, months or years. There is no arbitrary breastfeeding duration required to qualify to submit a story.

Ask yourself whether you think your story will inspire other mothers to breastfeed, or to continue breastfeeding if they are finding it tough. If your answer is yes, then please go ahead and submit your story.

I’m not sure that my circumstances would count as challenging or unusual enough to be on ibreastfed.com. How can I know?

In order to have your story published you must have breastfed in challenging or unusual circumstances. Of course, everyone has different ideas about what constitutes such challenging or unusual circumstances. Ask yourself whether you think your story will inspire other mothers to breastfeed, or to continue breastfeeding if they are finding it tough. If your answer is yes, then please go ahead and submit your story.

My baby was unable to latch onto my breast so I never breastfed her, but I expressed milk for her for 6 months. Does that count?

Yes! Feeding your baby expressed breastmilk is still breastfeeding.

My story doesn’t fit any of your current categories. Should I still submit it?

Yes. I will happily create new categories when needed.

I’m still not sure if my story is right for this website. Should I submit it anyway?

If you are unsure please use the Contact form to email me with a brief outline of your story and your concerns, and I will reply to you as soon as possible.

Will you pay me for my story?

No. I have created ibreastfed.com as a community service and it is funded from my own pocket.

Your privacy

Why do you need my name and email address?

I collect contributors’ full names and email addresses so that I can keep a record of who has written each story, and in case I need to contact you for any reason.

I may use your first name in the title of your story, for example, “Breastfeeding my allergic baby – Mary’s story”. Please let me know when submitting your story if you do not want your first name published.

I will not pass on your name and email address to any third party.

Do I have to use my real name and real email address?

You don’t have to, but if I need to contact you about your story and you have not supplied a valid email address, I may not be able to publish it.

I am worried about having information about myself and my family published on the internet. What safeguards do you have in place to protect my privacy?

If you are concerned about your privacy I recommend that you do not include in your story information that could be used to identify you, such as “My Name is Jo Bloggs and I live in Thistown with my husband Jack Bloggs. My children’s names are Jed (6), Jane (3) and Jimmy (4 mo). Jed in now is Class 1 at Thistown Public School…”

All content on ibreasfed.com is approved (or not) by me. I am the only person who sees your story and photos before they are published. I have done my best to secure my web server but please understand that this is the internet and nothing is 100% unhackable…

Writing your story

Can I include my email address in my story?

Yes, but for the sake of your privacy and to avoid being added to spam lists I would not recommend it. If you really want to publish your email address then I recommend you disguise it from spambots by typing it out in full, e.g. myname at yahoo dot com.

Can I mention my own or other websites in my story?

Yes you can, but only if they are relevant to your story, or are personal blog-type sites. I check all links before publishing and irrelevant ones are culled.

How long should my story be?

It can be a paragraph long, or pages long. It is up to you.

Submitting your story

How do I submit my story?

Go to the Participate page, fill out the form and click Submit.

Can I submit pictures with my story?

Yes, the submission form has options to upload up to two pictures from your computer.

Do not submit professional photographs unless you are the photographer or can provide written proof that the photographer has given permission for them to be published online.

After submitting your story

What happens to my story after I submit it?

Your story is sent to my web server. I read it thoroughly and format it for publishing, along with any photos you have included.

Except in cases of family illness where I don’t get a chance to touch my computer for a day or two, and short holidays where I am computerless, you should see your story appear on ibreastfed.com within 24 hours.

Will you edit my story?

Probably not, although to avoid being sued I will remove the names of any health professionals or health institutions.

I will also remove links to websites that are not relevant to our story.

If I have any questions or concerns about any other aspect of your story I will reply to you via email, so please submit a real email address that you check regularly.

How can I keep track of reader comments on my story?

You can receive new comment updates via email by entering your email address in the “Subscribe without commenting” form below the comment form at the bottom of your story.

It’s been more than 24 hours since I submitted my story but I still don’t see it on the website. What’s happened?

I’ve most probably emailed you regarding your story and my email has got stuck in your spam catcher. If you don’t see your story or hear from me via email within 24 hours of submitting your story please contact me.